Neolamprologus brichardi

Brichardi

My breeding pair of Brichardi have three things on their minds. They swim, eat and make babies. We have taken four broods from the tank and there are another three waiting to be shifted. They are very territorial and once they pick a mate, don't mess with them. I tried to introduce two more females for the bigger of the first brood but that was short lived. Those two females now reside in a community tank with other africans. The male is spectacular with his long flowing fins. These fish are beautiful and we still get excited when we see those tiny, tiny babies swimming around.

I have a mated pair of brichardi in a 100 L tank and they are wonderful to watch. I started off with 6 fish at 3 cm each and when they reached just over 5 cm. I got myself a mated pair and they harrassed the others so much I had to return them. I always heard they were easy to breed, but I didn't realize how easy until I found fry that were already 1 cm long. I highly recommend these fish to both the beginner and the advanced aquarist.

Beautiful looking fish, but aggressive to a fault, I've seen 3 cm long juveniles of these literally tear other less aggressive fish to pieces in seconds. If you want to see their true character look at the teeth...they make piranhas look friendly. Ridiculously easy to keep and breed, if you have some rockwork in the tank they quickly take it over and multiply. Interestingly, you end up with a clan of parents and juveniles of several generations all living together (and attacking the neighbours). An interesting, if not exactly peaceful tank I was had was a 200 litre one with stacks of limestone around the back and sides which was originally set up for a 'Tanganyikan' community. The 2 pairs of Brichardi I added quickly killed or beat the hell out of all the other fish and took over. After about three-four months there were half a dozen different Brichardi clans in the tank, engaged in constant turf wars!

We have been reading the comments on your website and we were suprised at the comments about how aggressive the Brichardi are. We have 4 pairs in our 380 L tanks and, other than being protective parents, we have not experienced any aggressive behavior from ours. We find them beautiful and enjoyable to watch, especially when they have young.

I have two of these fish in a 130 L tank. They love their brine shrimp and will not accept anything else. I'm not sure if I have a pair or two males or something. Since I've got them I have been feeding them small amounts of brine shrimp morning and night and they eat every last bit. They are also starting to get fin growth and more colour. I haven't noticed any aggression between the two, but they can be territorial at times, but not aggressive. The only thing that they do is eat and dig pretty much. I would recommend these fish to anyone with the right setup because they are easy to care for and look great. By the way, they have huge teeth for their size.

My brichardi are fully grown and I bought them as a pair. I have watched these fabulous fish for hours and I have never got bored. They routinely chase the Julidochromis marlieri and have bred several times, from which I have made a handsome profit from the fry.